Sophie Wills

A family from Rhodesia, Worksop narrowly escaped with their lives after their computer burst into flames while they were sleeping - just a few feet away from their three-month-old baby son.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the fire at the home of Ryan Seeley and Katie Jordan, who also have a four-year-old daughter, on Royds Crescent in the early hours of Tuesday 2nd February.

Ryan Seeley with the computer which caught fire in his Rhodesia home.

Ryan said: “It was absolutely terrifying and I don’t remember a lot of it. The fire was high, about chest height - and the room was filled with smoke.”

The couple had been watching a film on their desktop computer in their bedroom and had drifted off to sleep, leaving the computer on standby - with their baby son sleeping soundly in a cot next to their bed.

It was around 2am when Ryan woke to the sound of Katie shouting for help and the fire alarm sounding - and was horrified when he saw the computer had burst into flames.

The father threw the bed sheets over the computer to put the fire out while Katie grabbed the baby and her four-year-old daughter from the next room, rushing them to safety.

The family, who escaped unharmed and are now recovering from their ordeal, are determined to raise awareness by urging residents to check their smoke alarms.

Ryan added: “I had checked the smoke alarm outside our bedroom the month before, but hadn’t really thought about it. If it hadn’t gone off, we might not have woken up. It saved our lives.”

Notts Fire and Rescue Service’s risk reduction officer Ruth Clayton said: “It is only when we hear about stories like this that we can fully appreciate the importance of having working smoke alarms in our homes.”

“The early warning meant that Ryan, Katie and the children were able to get out of the bedroom before the fire had taken hold and spread - if they hadn’t, the consequences could have been fatal.”